Lawyers for Carlos Palazuelos and Daniel Maddox filed a Carlos Palazuelos claim Pima County notice on Monday against Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and a detective over detentions tied to the Nancy Guthrie investigation. The filing says Palazuelos was detained on Feb. 10 and Maddox was handcuffed at the home that was searched.
The notice of claim seeks $2.5 million for Palazuelos and alleges wrongful arrest and property damage. It says deputies held Palazuelos for about seven to eight hours, arrested him at gunpoint and released him later without charges.
Josefina Maddox home
The notice also names Josefina Maddox, the homeowner, and says Daniel Maddox was held for several hours after men in military gear pointed guns at him and ordered him to lie on the hallway floor. It says he was kept under guard at a van and suffered physical, mental and emotional pain and suffering.
Those detentions came during a search earlier in February for who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie, the mother of TODAY co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. The claim says the home was ransacked and that the detention left Carlos Palazuelos physically, emotionally and reputationally harmed.
Chris Nanos on Stay Tuned Now
Nanos said Friday on NBC News' Stay Tuned Now that a judge signed off on the search warrant after investigators built a case that suggested there was something at the residence or with the individuals. “We went, we served the search warrant, we spoke to the individuals involved, and we keep moving forward with the investigation,” he said.
The notice says a social media post from Nanos and statements from the sheriff's office made Palazuelos look like a suspect to the world, and that Sheriff Nanos and the PCSD refused to retract those statements or make clear that Carlos is innocent and had no involvement in the Guthrie case.
PCSD litigation response
The sheriff's department said it does not comment on pending litigation. It also said Nanos has said in multiple interviews that no one has been cleared in the case, and the investigation remains ongoing and active.
A man who identified himself as Palazuelos told Telemundo outside the home in Rio Rico that he was not involved. The notice of claim is a required step before a possible lawsuit, so the filing starts the legal clock without saying whether a suit will follow.
